Castrillón speaks

From Sunday's edition of Il Giornale, an interview of the President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, with Andrea Tornielli, on the main aspects of Summorum Pontificum.

What meaning does the Pope's decision have?

"The Pontiff's letter is clear. It is a decision which comes from the heart and from the mind of a Pope who loves and knows liturgy well. He wishes that the heritage represented by the ancient liturgy be preserved, without this representing any contradiction with the new Mass. Thousands of letters arrived in Rome from those who asked for the freedom to be able to participate in the old rite."

There have been those who said that Ratzinger thus "rejected" the Council...

"Benedict XVI has not walked or will walk, in any way or expression, on a path which is different from that indicated by the Council. The new Mass remains the ordinary Roman Rite. There is nothing in the motu proprio or in the papal letter which signals a minimal deviation from the Council. It may be appropriate to recall that Vatican II did not forbid the ancient Mass, which was celebrated by the Conciliar Fathers during sessions. No rejection, no offense. It is an encounter with the demands of groups of faithful, an act of liberality."

Is it an act of continuity or rupture in comparison to the Montini and Wojtyla pontificates?

"There is no contraposition. Paul VI granted the possibility to celebrate with the old rite soon after the coming into effect of the new Missal and Pope Wojtyla intended to prepare a Motu proprio similar to the one now promulgated."

Is the authority of the Bishop undermined?

"Those who have argued [so], have done so based on a prejudice, because the role of the Bishop rests assured, canon law does not change. It is the competence of the pastor of the diocese to coordinate the liturgy, in harmony with the supreme orderer, who is the Pope. In case of problems, the Bishop will intervene, always in agreement with the dispositions established by the motu proprio. I am certain that the pastoral sensibility of Bishops will find the way to favor the unity of the Church, helping to avoid a schism."

How do we deal with the Holy Friday prayer for the Jews?

"The authorized Missal is that of 1962, promulgated by John XXIII, in which the expression 'perfidis iudaeis' and 'iudaica perfidia' had already been removed."

[...]

Do you predict difficulties?

"I am not aware, in the History of the Church, of any moment in which important decisions have been taken without difficulty. But I strongly hope that they may be coped with and overcome, with the approach suggested by the Pope in his letter."

After this decision, the end of the rupture with the Lefebvrists is closer?

"With this Motu proprio, the door is widely opened [si spalanca la porta] for a return of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X to full communion. If, after this act, the return does not take place, I truly will not be able to comprehend. I wish to clarify, though, that the papal document has not been made for the Lefebvrists, but because the Pope is convinced of the need to underline that there is a continuity in the Tradition, and that in the Church one does not move forward by way of fractures. The ancient Mass has never been abolished nor forbidden." [AnTor]

14 comments:

that may be so, but where is the faith the strongest, the vocations the most forthcoming, the people the most faithful to the Pope? Is it among the throngs of so-called catholics who fill the average pew in the average novus ordo mass? Those souls, though we should not judge them, tend to contracept or abort their babies. On the other-hand, the average SSPX Catholic does not tend to kill their unborn.

Dear "New Catholic"You did a marvelous service to the Church with your coverage of the Motu Proprio. It is a real blessing for all of us. As a faithful Catholic who loves all legitmate forms of faithful Liturgy, Novus Ordo (properly celebrated), Ttridentine or Byzantine, I am offended by the last comment indicating that those who attend Novus ordo masses contracept and abort. This kind of vitriol and offensive comment should be deleted. Deacon Keith Fournier

as someone who does suffer the Novus Ordo as misdelivered and has his eyes and ears open...

explain the number of families in the pews with exactly 2.0 children. They are not all converts past child-bearing age.

Have you tried reading, for instance, Kenneth R. Jones book, full of statistics from the Church herself, or any survey done over recent years on the opinions and attitudes of Catholics? Are they lying when they are polled? Are they really giving the answer the questioner wants to hear?

Have a look at the situation of Italy or Spain or Ireland...the behaviour of Catholics...the Holy See knows what is going on in Italy only too well...

You yourself know damn well that Catholics in the USA are contracepting like crazy.

______________

%age of Catholics (1999) who believe a person can be a good Catholic whilst disagreeing with the Church on:

birth control = 72%abortion = 53%

NCR, Oct.29, 1999._______________

%age of Catholics 20-39 who do not believe the following are "essential to the faith."

teachings against abortion = 31%

Center for Applied Research in the Apsotolate Report, Fall 2001.______________

%age of lay religion teachers in Catholic elementary schools who agree with the Church on...

contraception = 10%elective abortion = 26%euthanasia = 31%

The Catholic character of Catholic schools, University of Notre Dame Press, 2000.____________

I have two whole pages of survey results from the 1990s right in front of me, a number of surveys done by the secular press and the Church, and they agree nicely.

I'll summarize the surveys, a simple aggregate:

in the USA only 15-25% of Catholics agree with the Church on contraception and 25-45% on abortion.

I'll give you just one, a good one:

"Among those who attend Mass at least once a week...even when those who 'mildly' agree are included in the calculations, only 46% accept Church teaching on abortion; 43% accept the all male priesthood; and a paltry 30% recognize contraception as morally wrong."Catholic World Report/Roper poll 1997.

In every single survey done the results are just as bad for priestly celibacy, divorce, all-male priesthood / wimmin's ordination.

I dare say Deacon your Church may be an exception (as is mine, which is bursting with children, more children than an SSPX chapel I dare say ;-))...BUT, face it, when you look out among the faces of those wimmin (especially), and when you let those wimmin prance around the altar with the Body and Blood...you might be getting less then you think.

The only "vitriol and offensive comment" I see is your demand to censure the truth. Yes, as Simon-Peter clearly substantiated, many, many Catholics in the Novus Ordo are contracepting. And why shouldn't they? Their pastors never tell them not to!! In 45 years as a Catholic, I've only heard 1 priest preach the truth on contraception. How many such priests do you know, Deacon Fournier??

as an ex-novus ordo attendee, i can surely say that "one" of the reasons i could no longer bring my family to was the in your face obvious rejection of Church teaching on comtraception among the novus ordo attendees. my children were starting to ask questions! now as i participate in the TLM i can worry less, because the pews are filled with children. Now my children view our family as "normal" Praise God! i'll gladly continue to drive the near 2 hours to protect my children from the scandal at the novus ordo, but hopefully that will change with the MP. There has to be a connection. the truth is the truth. thanks new catholic for the great blog.d

Good Lord Almighty, Deacon!! Open your eyes!! I dare you to challenge the men at your parish to open their wallets on the way out of Church this Sunday. For the love of all that is holy, wake up and smell the coffee.

It seems that novus ordo Catholics are either out right dissenters and indifferentists, or blissfully, willfully ignornant.

Our problem is this. Catholics do as other people do abort, contracept, cohabit, and divorce because our laws and social norms allow this. Human nature being what it is most people take the easier option. They also copy those around them. If virtue was pleasurable and profitable we would all be saints.It is time Catholics really begin to fight the secular state. It is a problem as in Europe church property is owned by the state and in some countries priests are paid by the state. In Germany the state collects church tax. In many countries the governments give the church funds for education, health and building maitenance. Also a their is tax free status. How will the Church refuse to bend to the state under these circumstances. So the secular state wins by slowly wearing the church down.In the USA the state says it beleives in freedom and choice. This also destroys the church. We need to RESIST.